Alan Day was born a cowboy, having grown up on the 200,000-acre Lazy B cattle ranch in Arizona and New Mexico. After graduating from the University of Arizona, he returned to manage the Lazy B for 40 years. In 1988, Alan purchased a 35,000-acre ranch in South Dakota, which became the very first government sponsored wild horse sanctuary and home to 1500 wild mustangs. The Horse Lover is Mr. Day’s second book and is a personal recollection of his cowboy adventures, deep connection with horses and managing the sanctuary’s unadoptable wild horses. His first book is the New York Times best-selling book the Lazy B which he co-authored with his sister, Sandra Day O’Connor, a retired Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
With two books under your “cowboy buckle” and a blog of short stories, it seems you’ve discovered another career as a writer.
I wrote the first book with my sister, Sandra, at her urging and discovered I enjoyed writing. I’m currently working on a book of short stories and a novel. Creating a setting, characters and dialogue is so different than writing memoirs but I enjoy a challenge! The Horse Lover was an opportunity for me to share my story and amazing adventure with horses. Horses are my friends and a great part of my life.
In The Horse Lover you talk about using a herd modification program you developed at the Lazy B to train cattle and later, the wild mustangs. Tell us about that method?
Dad had been sick for a number of years, so when I returned to the Lazy B after college, I found the wildest cattle! I was raised in the tradition of the “tough” cowboy where you and your horse are tougher than the cattle, but that old style is hard on the horses and livestock. I developed a method to train and work with the young calves. In 10 days, those calves got gentle and easy to handle. Later when those calves became cows and had their own babies, they were used to being around people. Since horses are more athletic and smarter than cattle, my goal was to make friends with those wild mustangs so they didn’t have to be afraid of me. I’ve always found if you give a little to a horse, they give it back 10 fold.
What prompted you to purchase land and make it home to 1500 wild mustangs?
We love our wild horses but man is becoming their worst enemy. We do things that frighten them and the BLM treat them like objects. I convinced the BLM to give me 1500 horses and promised to feed them the best grass and take good care of them. The BLM and Congress liked my idea. Having managed a 200,000 acre ranch, I was knowledgeable about a grazing system. My reward was that the land thrived with these unwanted horses were happy to gallop and run free on it.
What prompted you to write The Horse Lover?
I’m the luckiest guy and have lived a charmed life. I grew up on a 200,000-acre playground! I wrote the book to inspire people to have the confidence to try similar things. I hope people will read about my ideas and take them further along.
For more information www.thehorselover.com
